This is a reproduction of an article in the Saturday April 20th edition of The Baltimore Sun that can be found HERE: I read Kelvin Jordan’s recent commentary (‘Rebuild the Key Bridge with local unionlabor,” April 8) with a mix of interest and unease. The Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy of …
An ABC Maryland Legislative UpdateEach Monday from January through the end of the Legislative session in mid-April, ABC’s legislative team, comprised of our lobbyists, members, and staff review, deliberate, and strategize on how to best advance and protect the interests of our members. The following are bills under consideration by …
PG Co School Super Said New PLA Dictate Could Bring Halt to Construction Program In the wake of executive orders from President Biden and, more recently, Maryland Governor Moore, the Prince Georges County Council has become a chief proponent for union-only Project Labor Agreements. But not surprisingly, the resulting increased …
EO bars Maryland workers from majority of taxpayer-funded construction projects On November 17, Governor Moore issued an executive order that requires the consideration of union-only-project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction contracts where the state’s financial commitment is $20 million or greater. The net result of this action will severely hinder more than 90% …
In August, the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued a proposed rule regarding the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. This legislation is strongly opposed by ABC, and we’re launching a survey to get your opinion. The proposed Inflation Reduction Act provides over $270 billion in tax …
For ABC’s 1500+ member firms, the 2023 Maryland General Assembly was a particularly challenging one as legislators wrestled with the practical implications of legalized cannabis, flirted with criminalizing prevailing wage violations, and imposed union-labor requirements on offshore-wind-energy projects. In a session that saw the introduction of nearly 2500 bills, ABC’s …
Last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring project labor agreements on federal construction projects over $35 million. The White House claimed that the order will help ease management concerns and organization on large construction projects. ABC sent a letter to the White House highlighting concerns with President Biden’s efforts …
Maury Baskin, ABC General Counsel Maury is a Shareholder with Littler Labor & Employment Law Solutions On September 9, 2021, President Biden released his COVID-19 Action Plan, Path Out of the Pandemic (the “Plan”). The Plan mandates vaccination against COVID-19 for employees working for employers that have 100 or more employees, as …
There is still funding available for businesses in most counties through the Maryland Small Business Covid-19 RELIEF Grant Program. The Maryland Department of Commerce will soon reopen the application portal so these businesses will have one final chance to apply for this grant. The RELIEF Act of 2021 required that Commerce, to the best of …
In a City/Region Where Fewer Than 1 out of 10 Construction Workers Belong to a Union, Bill Will Devastate Local Hiring Just a little more than a year ago after it was first introduced, the Baltimore City Council has reintroduced legislation that would force subcontractors to hire their labor from …
Legislation that would provide a broad array of benefits and protections to those workers who continue working during a state-declared emergency is being debated in the Maryland General Assembly. And while the stated goal of the bill [HB 0581; SB 486] would be to safe-guard those workers who would be …
Sure, there is a world-wide pandemic and Maryland was mostly shut down this past spring, but that didn’t stop legislators from doing what they do best: create new laws and regulations. The Maryland General Assembly passed more than 650 pieces of legislation in the 2020 Legislative Session, including several statewide …
New video highlighting the many problems with bill. View it HERE. Members from ABC Baltimore and the Maryland Minority Contractors Association are working together to persuade City Council members that legislation that imposes a union-only ‘project labor agreement’ on City projects $15 million and more would have a devastating impact …
Effective July 1, 2019 the State of Maryland adopted new legislation requiring contractors performing work on State of Maryland contracts to provide health insurance to all employees on the jobsite. In addition, the employer must certify they are contributing at a minimum 50% of the employee premium or contribute …
Maryland legislators are considering a new, complicated formula to restructure the way school construction money is allocated in the hopes of targeting systems with the most need. The draft formula, which would replace the current system that distributes state aid proportionally to all of the state’s 24 subdivisions, had trouble …
